Paul Coetzer (57) and his wife, Magda (44), from the farm Diephoek in Glen area outside Bloemfontein, were brutally attacked with a pickaxe handle and pipe on Sunday, August 23, 2015.
Coetzer and his wife, Magda went for a walk with the dogs in the afternoon after they locked their home. When they returned, Paul went to the room to watch TV, but the plug did not work.
“We have a small heater in the bathroom and I went there to see if there was any power.”
Two attackers were waiting for him in the bathroom. Paul said one of the attackers had a balaclava over his face and the other one was armed with a pickaxe handle.
“The first blow hit me above my right ear and I immediately fell. In the process I overturned a table on top of me,” he said. “He kept hitting, but I could at least stop most of the blows with the table.”
Paul screamed to Magda to get out of the house and to call the police. The two attackers ran down the hall into the kitchen’s direction and Magda fled from the house when she saw them coming.
One of the attackers chased her while Paul trapped the second one in the scullery. “I pushed him to the ground and he shouted to the other one in Sotho to come and help him. I was afraid he would beat me again with the pickaxe handle so I let him go,” he said.
When he went outside, the other attacker was trying to strangle Magda on the ground. He also attacked her with a pipe. The dogs barked severely and one dog bit the attacker from behind. When Paul ran out of the house, the robbers fled.
“They stole two phones, but I suspect that they had a key to the house,” Paul said. “There were no signs of a break-in and we have definitely locked the house.”
Paul got stitches to his head, while Magda had severe bruises, especially around her neck. According to Paul, he and Magda are both badly traumatized after the incident and they will definitely get counseling. “It was so busy after the attack with the police investigation and the hospital and everything, but now it is quiet, and the trauma is catching up on us now,” he said.
Sgt. Ian Gaobepe, police spokesman, confirmed the farm attack, and told Maroela Media no suspects have been arrested.
A case of robbery and attempted murder is being investigated.
South Africa Today – South Africa news
